Hammond police arrest man accused of five-parish burglary spree

Hammond police arrest man accused of five-parish burglary spree

Hammond police have arrested a man accused of stealing $200,000 worth of property from storage facilities in five parishes, including multiple facilities in Hammond.

Sherod Champ, 39, of 7913 Lacombe St., New Orleans, was booked by Hammond police with 42 counts of burglary at Hammond-area storage facilities alone, Lt. Vincent Giannobile said Friday in a news release.

Investigators also believe he has stolen property from storage facilities in Orleans, St. Tammany, East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes, Giannobile said. The type of property stolen is unclear.

Dominique Jose Arce, 21, and Alisha Johnson, 38, have also been arrested in the case, Giannobile said.

Arce, 7815 Forsey St., New Orleans, was being held in Orleans Parish Prison pending transport to Hammond at a later time.

Johnson, 32794 La. 43, Independence, was arrested by Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputies and was being held in the Livingston Parish Detention Center.

Johnson is Champ’s girlfriend and allegedly has been storing the stolen property, Giannobile said.

Investigators believe the suspects stole vehicles and used them to commit burglaries before taking them to an undisclosed facility in New Orleans, Giannobile said.

New Orleans police have said Champ was arrested July 8 after officers pulled him over for driving a car with a fake brake tag and altered license plate. Police later learned the car he drove was stolen May 14 and that other vehicles on his property were reported stolen from St. Tammany Parish.

New Orleans police later searched his home and storage units he rented and found property stolen from storage units in Hammond and Kenner.

Sheriff’s deputies in St. Tammany Parish arrested Champ on July 30 on 60 counts of simple burglary, among other counts.

Arce was booked by New Orleans police with possession of stolen property.

Authorities also were looking for a fourth suspect in the case — Nicholas Joey Luther, 7815 Forsey St., New Orleans.

Anyone with information on Luther’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa at (800) 554-5245.

Hammond Police Department detectives were trying to identify the property stolen from the storage facilities. Anyone who had their storage unit burglarized may contact police Detective Edwin Bergeron at (985) 277-5741.